Propagation is the beginning of plant life and is a way of using natural or artificial methods, which is using genetic seeds and using different types of chemicals for the use of gardening such as planting seeds, transplanting, watering, weeding and planting in season.
There are two different fields of farming, there are large farming corporations that uses genetic altered seeds and pesticides for their fruits and vegetables and small farmers who are much more likely to use organic methods and heirloom seeds. For centuries, farmers have used selective breeding to improve seed production. Recent advances in science and technology now allow genetic engineers to easily and precisely move genes to improve plants and seeds. Agricultural biotechnology has enormous economic and humanitarian potential: “the great hope for genetically engineered crops is that they will feed the world.” There are vast benefits: more productive harvests, improved food quality (such as vitamin-enriched products), and decreased dependence on environmentally dangerous chemicals and pesticides. Some small farmers are focused on supplying to direct to market such as farmer’s markets, restaurants and smaller organic grocers. The ability of humans to genetically manipulate seeds through science has altered the agricultural landscape for both large farming corporations and small family farms. While genetic modification provides many advantages for small farmers, particularly in developing countries, there are likewise many drawbacks. Agribusiness domination of the global seed market and aggressive campaigns to promote broad patenting rights for biotech seeds and plants challenge traditional farming practices such as seed saving and seed sharing. Up to this point, the United States' has been the most vocal advocate of bolstering these IP rights on the international front. The global seed market and the media is involved into the advertisements to promote their products for the use of farming.
The differences between heirloom seeds and genetic engineered seeds are natural or artificial seeds. Heirloom seeds are seeds from open-pollinate cultivars, which is pollinated without human intervention, as by the wind or insects that are genetic in origin of earlier origins before the 1950’s when genetic engineering became popular often these fruits and vegetables are of a very high quality, easy to grow and cultivate. Many of these seeds were reproduced from the World War II era when so-called victory gardens were very popular. Some of the varieties are even 100 to 150 years old. When you modify seeds, you create Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). A GMO is an organism that is produced by in genetic engineering. Genetic scientists make a form of DNA that is combined into one molecule creating it into a new set of genes for animals, plants or bacteria organisms. The combining of genes from different organisms is called recombinant DNA technology, which creates genetically modified organisms or genetically engineered and are used in medicines, food, feed, fibers, etc.
There are beneficial insects and natural compounds that do not affect humans and animals and then there are also chemical products that are made out of different combinations of chemicals to kill certain plants and insects. Big farmers usually use pesticides and many of the pesticides are made by Monsanto who makes Roundup, which is the most popular pesticide used in the U.S. It is scientifically known as glyphosate, which has been proven to cause weeds to become immune to the pesticides from overuse and create super weeds, which are very chemical resistant. This product was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, John Francis Queeny, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry and it was named after his wife’s maiden name. It also can affect our wheat crop and make it inedible.
Many small farmers use beneficial insects as their pest control and it uses insect predators to go after its prey. For example, parasitic wasps are used in agricultural pest control because they go after certain caterpillars, beetles and other types of insects. This is the nature of life and it is harmless to people, plants and animals. There are also soaps and oils that are naturally occurring that can be used against many different insects that are applied topically and are harmless.
In my own family history, my great Aunt Eva was an organic farmer; she started her farm in the 1920’s or in the 1930’s, before World War II in Norrocco, Indiana and her farmlands were approximately two hundred acres. She had two girls: Dorothy and Betty, they both became farmers. Betty and her husband were pig farmers and Dorothy stayed on the farm and helped her mother, Eva. When Dorothy was married to Al, both of them grew three different types of corn on Eva’s farm. They both worked full-time growing corn and they mostly grew seed (sweet) corn to feed to the cows. They would rent lands to make their farm bigger. Some of the farms were miles apart from each other so; they kept buying different farmlands to grow more corn and did more than sixty-five years of farming.
Dorothy’s farm is now around 3,000 acres and made up of several smaller farms, many of these farms have a house, a barn and a tractor. From the year of 2005, each acre was twenty-five thousand dollars each; now in the year of 2009 is probably the double of the price. Dorothy is still living today working in Indiana along with her children and her grandchildren helping her growing corn. She now sells her corn to a Manufacturer that uses corn and makes it into ethanol, which is fuel. My great aunt’s farm is uncommon nowadays because of large corporations are buying most of the small farms. Her children and her grandchildren will probably continue to farm and continue to grow corn and other vegetables for their family and small distributors.
Propagation is to show a way of how to plant your plants, transplant, water and maintain your crops. We all should support our small farmers to keep our old methods of farming our fruits and vegetables. Going to farmer’s markets and small grocers to buy organic food, which is healthy for our bodies to have. If we all can support small businesses that supply us with good food it can create a positive impact.
Bibliographies:
"Agriculture Biotechnology FAQ's". United States Department of Agriculture. 31 OCTOBER 2009
Ewens, Lara E. . Seed Wars: Biotechnology, Intellectual Property, and the Quest for High Yield Seeds. 2000.
de Oliviera Souza, Henrique Freire . Genetically Modified Plants: A Need for International Regulation. 2000.
Stein, Haley . "Intellectual Property and Genetically Modified Seeds: The United States, Trade, and the Developing World". Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property. 31 OCTOBER 2009
"Green Gardening Glossary Print". 31 OCTOBER 2009
"What are Genetically Modified (GM) Foods? ". Human Genome Project. 2009 October 17
Caulcutt, Clea . "‘Superweed’ explosion threatens Monsanto heartlands ". France 24. 31 OCTOBER 2009
"Monsanto". Wikipedia. 31 OCTOBER 2009
"It's a BUG EAT BUG world out there. ". The Beneficial Insect Co. . 2009 October 17
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